Britney Spears 'Femme Fatale': Is Her New Album Worth Our Time?

No matter what she does, Britney Spears just can't seem to avoid controversy. Most recently, she's been accused by TMZ of failing to nail her dance moves for the "Hold It Against Me" music video. The pop star's rep immediately came to B's defense:

The accusations could not be further from the truth. Britney worked extremely hard on this video and rehearsed for six weeks prior to shooting.

The thing is, it's not hard to imagine that there's at least a bit of truth to the stand-in accusations. We are talking about Britney here. She's just hasn't been at the top of her game in a while.

But, I used to be the first person to defend Britney. Circa "I'm a Slave 4 U," I'd get into panicky debates with music snobs right and left, arguing, "She makes pop music! Her songs are NOT meant to challenge you intellectually; they're fun, light, frothy, sexy fun. You're just supposed to dance."

However, A LOT can change in a decade. Now, I am SO not the first person to check the B.S. Alert! (If you're not familiar, that's Britney's team's way to spite "false" tabloid attacks.) I've turned off the car mid-"Hold It Against Me." I'm not even sure where myCircusorBlackout CDs are, and none of those tracks are on my iPhone. (Not because they were awful. They just weren't ... amazing.) Eek! It's like I'm not of a Britney fan at all anymore ...

Nonetheless, I have high hopes for this new album. I've always loved pop music. I've always loved to dance to pop music. And, by extension, I've waited patiently for Britney to bounce back to being a top-notch entertainer. She may be an overly-produced, PhotoShopped, possible stand-in-using star, but I'm sentimental enough to think that ... THIS TIME, B will be able to bring itlike she did in '01-'02.

Maybe Femme Fatale will be filled with glitzy, sexy, infectious pop magic, like "Toxic." Maybe the video for "Hold It Against Me" will feature Britney back in her fighting form as a dancer. It's not totally impossible!

Well, look at that. Seems as though I'm still coming to the once-fallen pop star's defense after all.

What do you think of "Hold It Against Me"? Are you looking forward to the new album?